Course summary

The Master of Science (MSc) in Visualisation programme provides an academic framework for postgraduate students to engage with the application of 3D visualisation and interaction and Extended Reality (e.g. Augmented and Virtual Reality and ‘metaverse’) technologies across a variety of fields and contexts, as well as equipping students with the knowledge and skills required to develop a research project within this field. The MSc provides a higher level taught programme to those emerging from a wide range of disciplines, wishing to engage in advanced study in the application of modern visualisation and interaction techniques across a range of domains. The degree will allow them to develop industry appropriate skills for future PhD study or a range of career paths in heritage, games, media and digital content production, academia, and related fields developing a unique portfolio of work and hands on experience. Students are asked to locate their developing professional and personal practice within a specialist pathway: Heritage Visualisation or Serious Games & Virtual Reality. 1. Heritage Visualisation Heritage Visualisation is a specialist pathway in the realm of 3D visualisation. The MSc Heritage Visualisation aims to help students develop the knowledge and skill sets required to deliver and conduct digital documentation of heritage (both physical heritage sites and non-tangible forms of heritage) and to create a unique opportunity to combine heritage with state of the art digital technologies, including 3D laser scanning, digital reconstruction of historic sites and artefacts, and interaction and visualisation using virtual reality facilities. It allows an ideal opportunity for digital documentation and reconstruction of heritage in a real-time or pre-rendered 3D environment for use in areas such as tourism, art, education, entertainment and science. 2. Serious Games and Virtual Reality Digital games are firmly established as one of the most significant sectors of the entertainment and creative industries, and the technology behind today's games is being implemented in many other industries beyond entertainment. Serious games are games with purpose beyond just providing entertainment. Examples include, but are not limited to, edutainment and training, health games, and games for policy and social change. Virtual Reality (VR) has likewise seen dramatic growth and adoption in recent years, with a slew of new Head Mounted Devices (HMD) continuing to come to market reducing the barriers to working with immersive VR. Accordingly, Virtual Reality has found a new audience in the entertainment field, as well as with industrial and education sectors due to the rich immersion possible. Modern mobile phones and specialist devices have also led to an explosion in Augmented Reality devices and applications, which along with Virtual Reality have created a rich ecology of ‘Extended Reality’ or XR applications. The MSc Serious Games and Virtual Reality pathway was one of the first MSc programmes in the UK to specialise in the educational, industrial and commercial applications of Virtual Reality.